a cup of sugar
by MiriRainbowitz
Summary: 5 times Barry asked Iris for some cooking ingredients and 1 time he actually asked her out (the rating is only because of the last chapter)
1. sugar

"Coming!" Iris yelled as she hurried to the front door. She pulled it open to see the cute guy who'd moved into the house across the street standing on the steps, his hand raised as if to keep on knocking.

"Uh...you're Iris, right?" he asked, and Iris nodded. "I'm Barry. Allen, um…"

"Did you want something?" Iris asked a few seconds after he trailed off.

"Oh, yeah, um...would you- do you have any, uh, sugar? I was going to do some baking, but I don't have any," Barry said, tilting his head down as if to try to hide the blush creeping up his cheeks, and Iris thought _he is so adorable_.

"As a matter of fact, I do," she replied, and Barry looked back up, an adorably flustered expression on his face. "How much do you need?"

"Uh...a cup, I think," Barry replied.

"I'll be right back with that," Iris said, and hurried to the kitchen to measure out the sugar into a measuring cup. Once she was done, she went back and handed the cup to Barry. "Here you go," she said.

"Thank you, Iris," Barry replied with a grin, then turned and walked back across the street into his house.

Barry let out a groan as he sank onto the floor, making sure to keep the measuring cup in his hand undamaged. He'd been trying to gather up the courage to ask out Iris for weeks- he'd even practiced in front of a mirror- but when she'd opened the door, all of his preparations went right out the window. It was like he was back in high school, trying to ask out Becky Cooper.

At least he'd managed to carry out a semi-coherent conversation, even though he'd been lying through his teeth about baking. You'd think that someone as good at chemistry wouldn't have any trouble baking, but despite years of trying, Barry couldn't bake to save his life.

Barry sighed, then stood back up. As he went to his kitchen, he pulled out his phone and texted Felicity.

 _I tried and failed, but I also didn't completely embarrass myself._

He went over to the trash can and was about the dump the sugar in, but then he realized that that would be a complete waste of sugar. He poured it into his sugar jar instead- God knew he liked his morning coffee sweet, and it wouldn't be wasted there.

Barry's phone dinged, and he pulled it out to see that Felicity had texted him back. _Oh well. Maybe next time?_

 _We'll see_ , he replied.


	2. chocolate chips

Barry stood in front of the door of Iris's house for a full minute before knocking. It had been three days since he'd asked Iris for the cup of sugar, and he was _definitely_ going to ask her out today.

Then the door opened, and every thought flew out of Barry's head at the sight of Iris wearing a white tank top and black pants, her hair wrapped up in a towel.

"Hi, Barry," Iris said with a smile. "Sorry about my-" she gestured to her body- "appearance, I just showered."

"You look- it's fine," Barry replied, trying to hide the fact that his brain was kind of shorting out right now over thoughts about _Iris showering_. "Listen, I was-"

"Let me guess- you want some more cooking supplies that you forgot to buy?" Iris asked with a slight smirk.

Barry wanted to say no, but then he made the mistake of looking into Iris's gorgeous chocolate brown eyes, and couldn't even remember what she'd just said.

"Chocolate as in...chocolate chips?" Iris asked, which startled Barry.

"What?" he replied.

"You said chocolate," Iris said.

Barry blushed- his thoughts on Iris's eyes must not have been as private as they were supposed to be- and nodded. "Um, yeah. I was gonna make chocolate chip cookies, and I forgot to _buy_ them."

Iris quirked an eyebrow, then said, "As luck would have it, I do actually have some chocolate chips."

"Thank you," Barry replied. "Oh, and- here's your cup," he said as he held it out to her.

"Oh, thanks," Iris said cheerfully. "I'll be right back." With that, she turned and walked away, and Barry ran a hand through his hair as he groaned. Why had his talent of always being late failed him now? Why couldn't he have just waited?

"Here you go," Iris said, holding out a partially-filled bag of chocolate chips.

"You're a lifesaver, Iris," Barry said. "See you later."

As soon as he was inside, Barry texted Felicity. _No luck with asking her out. Also could you ask Oliver if he wants a half-full bag of chocolate chips? I'll just throw it out otherwise._


	3. herbes de provence

Barry hesitated as he was about to leave his house. What if Iris said no?

 _Don't be ridiculous_ , he thought. _You've been asking her for cooking supplies for a while, there's no way she'll know that you_ actually _need them this time._

The only dish Barry could actually make was his mother's roast chicken, and as luck would have it, Barry didn't have one of the herbs she used for flavoring. He'd almost decided to make a run to grocery store, but decided that asking Iris would be much quicker and cheaper.

With that decided, he walked over and knocked on her door. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal an unfamiliar (and really attractive) guy standing there, only wearing a pair of loose sweatpants.

"What's up?" the guy asked.

"Um...is Iris here?" Barry asked.

"Yeah, I'll go get her," the guy replied, and walked away, leaving Barry to stand there awkwardly. Who _was_ that guy?

A few seconds later, Iris came into view, and it was just really unfair that Iris could look so gorgeous in just a white tank top and jeans. "Hey, Barry," she said with a smile. "What do you need?"

"Was that guy your boyfriend?" Barry blurted out, then blushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't- I didn't mean to pry. I just need some Herbes de Provence- I'm making a roast chicken for dinner."

Iris laughed a bit. "Wally's my cousin," she replied, and Barry felt a tightness in his chest release. "He's visiting for a week. And I'm pretty sure I have some of those- I'll be right back." With that, she turned and went back into the house.

"Here you go," Iris said when she got back, handing the small bottle to Barry. "Good luck with your chicken."

"Thank you," Barry replied before heading back.

"Spill."

Iris willed herself not to blush. "About what?" she asked, trying to deflect.

The expression on Wally's face told her that her deflection wasn't working. "About that boy," he said. "Let me guess- that was the Barry Allen I've heard so much about?"

Iris sighed and wished that her cousin was less perceptive. "That was," she replied. "And before you even _think_ about doing something, I will kick you out if you do."

"If you insist," said Wally as he stood up. When he reached the foot of the stairs, he turned back and said, "But just so you know, I think your crush on him might not be as unrequited as you think." With that, he disappeared up the stairs, leaving Iris's thoughts in chaos.


	4. lime juice

A small grin played over Barry's face as he knocked on Iris's door. Today was the day- he was finally going to ask her out, and nothing would stop him.

The grin, of course, fell off his face as soon as he saw Iris's teary eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's nothing," Iris replied, her voice coming out hoarse. "Did you need something?"

"It's obviously not nothing, if it's got you like this, and it's nothing I can't pick up at a store," Barry retorted. "Just tell me what's wrong- I mean, if you want to. You don't have to."

Iris smiled weakly. "It's- today would have been my first wedding anniversary," she said. "Let's go inside." She walked into her house, with Barry taking in the house as he followed her.

She sat down on a couch and Barry sat next to her. "My fiancé was named Eddie- Thawne," she said after a few moments of silence. "He was a cop- a detective, actually, and he was my father's partner. That was how we met."

"We started dating in secret, but he was getting sick of it, and my friend Linda convinced me to tell my father. I'd been scared that he'd be angry, but he was actually really supportive. He said that as long as I was happy, he was happy for me, and that he also knew what a good guy Eddie was."

"He-" Iris broke off, sniffling a bit- "Less than a month before our wedding, we happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he took a bullet to protect me. He said he'd wanted to be my hero, but- I wanted him to be my _husband_ ," she said, before she started to cry.

Barry felt kind of awkward as he pulled her into a hug, but Iris didn't seem to mind as she cried on his shoulder. After what seemed like hours, she stopped crying and pulled herself away.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry all over you," she said, wiping her face with her sleeves.

"Hey, it's okay," Barry replied. "If you ever need me for anything, I'm here for you."

"Thank you," Iris said quietly. "Now, what did you need?"

"Uh…" Barry cast his mind for anything, before remembering the key lime pie that Oliver had baked sitting in his fridge. "Lime juice? I'm trying to make some key lime pie."

"I'm pretty sure I have that," Iris said, then got up. She returned a minute later with a bottle. "There's not much in here, but…"

"Thanks anyway," Barry replied as he stood up. "And Iris- I meant what I said. If you ever need me, just ask."


	5. flour

Barry walked outside, took a few steps, then turned back around and went back in. Despite the short distance, it was still way too cold to go over to Iris's house and without an actual coat.

Once he was wearing a coat (and gloves), he walked back over to Iris's house and knocked on the door. Valentine's Day was only a few days away, and he was done wasting any more time not asking her out.

The door opened to reveal Iris and another woman standing there. "Oh- hi, Iris. And…" Barry trailed off

"Barry, this is my best friend and coworker, Linda Park," Iris said. "Linda, my neighbor, Barry Allen."

"Nice to meet you," Barry said. "Listen, Iris, I was wondering if, um..."

"If you need chocolate chips, you're out of luck," Iris interrupted. "Linda and I are going to use them all for chocolate dipped strawberries for our Valentine's Day party."

"You're- having a party?" Barry asked.

"Well, it's not so much a party as it is the two of us watching romcoms all day and eating a ton of chocolate-y stuff," Iris replied. "And we only started doing it last year because she'd just broken up with her boyfriend and Eddie was..." she trailed off.

"I see," Barry replied. "Well, I was hoping you had- flour. I accidentally spilled mine everywhere, and we're having a pre-Valentine's Day party on Friday, and I was supposed to bring in cookies." Barry crossed his fingers behind his back and hoped that Iris and Linda wouldn't pick up on his lies.

"I do have flour," Iris replied, and walked off to get it. She returned with a bag, which Barry took. "Let me know how it goes," she said.

"Have fun with your- party," Barry said, before walking back to his house. Well, at least he'd tried.


	6. date

Oliver had just flung Felicity's bra across the room when her phone rang. Both of them paused for a second, then Felicity started to reach for her phone.

"Ignore it," Oliver practically growled.

"This late, it's probably work," Felicity replied. "I should get it."

To her surprise, it was actually Barry calling. "Hey Barry," she said as she picked up. "What's up?"

"I did it!" Barry exclaimed. "I finally did it!"

"Did- _what_?" Felicity asked, her voice hitting a higher tone on the second word when Oliver starting kissing her neck.

"I asked Iris out," Barry replied, and Felicity made some kind of a noise of approval. "I mean, I was planning on asking her out today, because the Valentine's Day things didn't go well- which you already know- and I still chickened out, but then she asked why I was always asking her for stuff instead of buying it, and I may have told her that I was only doing it to talk to her."

While Barry was talking, Oliver's mouth had moved from her neck up towards her ear, making it difficult for Felicity to concentrate on what Barry was saying- or letting out a moan of approval. There was a spot behind her ear that always drove Felicity crazy, and it seemed to be where Oliver was headed.

"What, um, happened next?" Felicity asked, trying to keep the breathiness out of her voice.

"Well, I kind of told her that I really like her and I'd been trying to ask her out for months, and that I gave most of the stuff I borrowed to Oliver, who, unlike me, can actually cook, and then I kind of babbled my way through asking her to go out with me," Barry replied. "And- we're going on an actual date this weekend."

Felicity could only let out a hum- Oliver's mouth was on that one spot, and she didn't even want to know what would come out of her mouth if she opened it.

Oliver broke away from her and growled, "You should hang up now." Felicity couldn't help but let out a quiet moan at how hot Oliver sounded.

"Felicity- are you okay?" Barry asked. "Or are you-"

"I'm fine," Felicity rushed out. "I'm just busy, so I have to go. Bye." She quickly hung up the phone and put it down, only for Oliver to suddenly pull her against him and roll himself on top of her.

"That was- oh god- really rude, Oliver," Felicity gasped as Oliver started kissing her breast. Oliver looked up at her with lust-filled eyes and replied, "Then he shouldn't have interrupted our first round of we-just-got-engaged sex."

The gorgeous ring on Felicity's finger seemed to grow heavier at Oliver's words. "That is reasonable," Felicity said. "And you're massively overdressed. You should take off your pants, husband-to-be."

"As you wish, wife-to-be," Oliver replied, and as he stood to do so, Felicity shoved all non-Oliver-related thoughts out of her head. Knowing Oliver, she'd probably be _busy_ for quite a while.


End file.
